ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis investigates practical approaches to growing sustainable food systems. It first
establishes the condition of the global environment within which food systems function
and critically assesses previous efforts to grow sustainable food systems. After applying
these findings to a set of case studies on local-food distribution in Stellenbosch, I
recommend ways for the local-food distribution network to encourage the growth of a
sustainable Stellenbosch food system.
The literature review provides an overview of the global environment in relation to food
systems and lists certain contextual challenges that food systems must address to become
sustainable. These challenges are social inequality, an urban future, degraded ecosystems,
climate change, energy constraints, a growing global population and food insecurity. The
literature review also describes how commercialisation has disembedded food systems
from their contexts. This disembeddedness loosens the feedback loops food systems
require to effectively respond to contextual challenges and consequently hinders their
sustainability.
The critical overview of previous attempts to re-embed food systems provides insight into
practical ways of growing sustainable food systems. The overview demonstrates that while
localisation and the building of social capital should not be seen as the ultimate goals of
sustainable food systems, they can be useful mechanisms for nurturing sustainability if
applied carefully.
The case studies describe ten local-food distribution initiatives in Stellenbosch, and are
informed by numerous in-depth semi-structured interviews. My conceptual framework
contrasts each initiative’s self-reported vision, perceived reality, and realised actions; this
highlights the conceptual and physical network connections between various local-food
distribution initiatives, as well as the factors preventing and promoting their sustainability.
The case studies show that although a local-food distribution network exists in
Stellenbosch, it is fragile and lacks defined conceptual connections. This in turn constrains
the formation of physical connections and thus the food system’s progress toward
sustainability.
The local-food distribution network in Stellenbosch can catalyse the growth of a
sustainable food system because its initiatives focus on localisation but do not see it as a
final objective. This shared focus indicates that localisation already constitutes a practical
tool in the growth of a sustainable food system; however, the network’s lack of social
capital still needs to be addressed.
Inclusive projects designed to create and protect intellectual, political and economic spaces
for reflection within the food system can generate the social capital necessary to grow a
sustainable food system. The realisation of a sustainable Stellenbosch food system
therefore depends on those with the capacity and resources to initiate the necessary
changes.